Grassroots Revolution

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Grassroots Revolution
Gwr 326Cover.png
description Anarcho-pacifist magazine
publishing company Self-published
First edition 1972
Frequency of publication per month
Widespread edition 3500-4000 copies
Editor-in-chief Bernd Drücke (Coordination Editor)
editor independent circle
Web link www.graswurzel.net
ISSN (print) 0344-2683
Grass roots revolution between other anarchist media

Graswurzelrevolution (abbreviated GWR ) is an anarcho-pacifist magazine founded in 1972 by Wolfgang Hertle in the Federal Republic of Germany , which sees itself as a mouthpiece for the international grassroots movement in German-speaking countries. As she sees herself, she advocates non-violent social change, with a focus on the topics of equality , anti-militarism , ecology and anti-fascism . It is the longest-lived periodical of anarchism in Germany and is considered the most influential anarchist magazine of the German post-war period.

Story and content

The first issue (“ zero number ”) of the magazine was published in the summer of 1972 by the “Nonviolent Action Augsburg”, a small group of libertarian pacifists led by the Augsburg student Wolfgang Hertle. From the third edition in the spring of 1973, the paper appeared in Berlin, later it was produced in various cities in Germany. The GWR created changing editorships in Göttingen (No. 20/21/1976 - No. 28/1978), in Hamburg (No. 29/1978 to No. 123 / Feb. 1988), in Heidelberg (No. 124 / May 1988 to No. 167 / Summer 1992), in Wustrow in the Wendland (No. 168 / Sept. 1992 to No. 201 / Oct. 1995) and in Oldenburg (No. 202 / November 1995 to No. 235 / January 1999). Since March 1999 (No. 237 ff.), The magazine has been self- published in Münster (Verlag Graswurzelrevolution e.V.) and coordinated editor Bernd Drücke is responsible for press law.

In the 1980s, it was used together with the Federation of Nonviolent Action Groups (FöGA) with a variant of the broken rifle stylized as an »A«

From 1972 to 1981 the GWR was published roughly every quarter, since 1981 it has been published regularly (until today) monthly, with a two-month pause in summer. From 1981 to 1987 the magazine was published by the Federation of Nonviolent Action Groups (FöGA), then again by an independent group of editors. The GWR is a member of the left-wing politics and science portal Linksnet and is associated with War Resisters' International . The publishing house Graswurzelrevolution, based in Heidelberg, also publishes books on topics such as the theory and practice of anarchism and pacifism .

The story of the grassroots revolution “must be seen in the political and historical context with the development of libertarian pacifism”, said the later coordinating editor Bernd Drücke in his dissertation in 1998: “In the twenties the anarchist-pacifist movement in Germany had numerous periodicals such as Young Anarchists (1923–1931) and Die Schwarze Fahne (1925–1929). In 1933 the movement was crushed, the libertarian-anti-militarist literature such as B. 'Krieg dem Kriege' by Ernst Friedrich , the most widespread anti-militarist book of the 1920s, was banned immediately after the National Socialists came to power. It fell victim to the book burns and was only rediscovered and relocated after 1968. After 1945, the tradition of libertarian anti-militarism had largely been forgotten. The Nazis destroyed not only countless people, but also many memories. So the, u. a. influenced by the Indian politician Mahatma Gandhi, non-violent movement in post-war Germany with few libertarian points of contact. She was not aware of the history and tradition of an anarchist-pacifist movement in Germany. During the Cold War, a mass movement against remilitarization, rearmament and nuclear weapons emerged in the Federal Republic, but the influence of anarchist groups on the pacifist movement was hardly noticeable. The non-violent activists in the Federal Republic of Germany during the 1950s and 1960s were for the most part either Christian or statist-socialist oriented. That only began to change in the mid-sixties, with the establishment of the first grass root groups. They were influenced not least by French, Swiss, British and American activists and publications from the environment of the internationally networked War Resisters' international (WRI). (…) In 1965, Wolfgang Zucht and other people from Hanover founded the libertarian-pacifist 'Direct Action, Papers for Anarchism and Non-violence' (subtitle). This hectographed 'organ of nonviolent anarchists' (subtitle) was published monthly until 1966 as a journal on the theory and practice of nonviolent anarchism. "

The concept and orientation of the GWR was inspired by the non-violent anarchist Anarchisme et Nonviolence (Lausanne, 1964–1967), which was spread in the francophone-speaking area by the group of the same name , and the Peace News, which has been published in London since 1936 .

Helga Weber and Wolfgang Zucht (2004), from 1974 co-editors of the grassroots revolution

In 1974 the grass roots workshop was founded at a meeting of non-violent action groups in Bückeburg. Wolfgang Zucht and Helga Weber in Kassel took over the coordination work in the loose network, which also gave the magazine a more solid political base. In 1976 the mail order bookshop and the Weber & Zucht publishing house followed .

Corresponding groups are also currently active in the peace movement , in actions by opponents of nuclear power , for example against the Castor transports or in the movement of critics of globalization . Reports on acts of civil disobedience , along with theoretical articles, make up an essential part of the GWR's reporting.

The civil service has been just like the anarchists of military service as "forced Government service" rejected. Therefore, reporting on cases of total refusal was also one of the main topics.

The main focus of the magazine's content includes the topics of equality , ecology , anti-militarism and, since the mid-2010s, increasingly anti-fascism , especially in connection with the AfD .

Structure and distribution

The GWR appeared up to number 396 (February 2015) with a length of at least 20 pages in the Berlin format . Since March 2015 (number 397) it has been relaunched in a new design and with 24 pages each in Berlin format. Since its inception, its circulation has been around 3,000 to 3,500 copies per single issue. During the protests against NATO's double resolution in the early 1980s, it had a monthly circulation of around 5,000. The October editions, which have been accompanied by the Libertarian Book Pages supplement on the occasion of the Frankfurt Book Fair since 1989, are currently being published at this level. An edition of the Libertarian Book Pages with a print run of 5,000 has been published for the Leipzig Book Fair since 2013. From 2001 to 2003 the GWR editorial team produced eight editions of Otkökü (Turkish: grass roots) together with conscientious objectors in Turkey. The bilingual, Turkish-German Otkökü appeared quarterly as a supplement to the GWR and separately with a circulation of up to 7,000 each. After the editions sent to Turkey were confiscated there, Otkökü distribution was limited to Western Europe. “No to the war!” - GWR extra sheets on the war in Yugoslavia in 1999 reached a circulation of up to 35,000. In May 2007 the “NO WAR! NO G8! Storm Warning ”-Extra sheet from GWR with a circulation of 20,000, in May 2011 30,000 copies of“ Switch off! Immediately! Extra sheet and supplement to GWR 359 ”were distributed. The highest GWR circulation was achieved with an extra GWR “No WAR!” In the run-up to the 3rd Gulf War in 2003: 55,000.

Aside from subscriptions , the GWR is sold over the counter at demonstrations , rallies and other relevant events such as B. in Switzerland at the Libertarian Book Fair . It is also represented nationwide in train station bookstores, bookshops and information stores. In larger cities, it is occasionally available in some branches of the normal magazine trade or at some kiosks .

The GWR editorial team sees itself as a non- hierarchically structured collective of employees with equal rights, and accordingly has no editor-in-chief. Many GWR authors publish their contributions under pseudonyms ; - on the grounds that content should have priority over the (rejected) highlighting of individuals and / or their possible prominence.

The magazine Graswurzelrevolution was and is supported by a network of nonviolent action groups (GAs) that have been formed with grassroots democratic aspirations since the mid / late 1970s and which attracted public attention , especially during the 1980s, through spectacular actions in the context of the new social movements . This included, for example, occupying building sites for planned nuclear power plants or other controversial large-scale projects, sit-downs in connection with the NATO double resolution or self-chaining actions in front of military facilities and the like. The political scientist Wolfram Beyer describes that the grassroots revolution is an important organ for the German-speaking region because the GWR " removes nonviolent action from the scientific field and supports concrete nonviolent actions in the media and also mobilizes them for nonviolent campaigns and, above all, for group formation and organization which contributes to nonviolent action groups ".

Youth newspaper

From 2007 to the end of 2011 there was a bimonthly supplement of 21 issues of the youth newspaper utopia - non-violent - domination-free . The circulation of Utopia rose from 10,000 to 25,000 (No. 9, March 2009). The authors wrote voluntarily and the newspaper was distributed free of charge. The newspaper was financed through advertisements and donations. It was sent to groups and individuals and distributed at demonstrations, schools and youth centers.

Classification by the protection of the constitution

The grassroots revolution or the grassroots movement is mentioned by various state authorities for the protection of the constitution and the Federal Office for the protection of the constitution in some annual reports and assigned to the left-wing extremist spectrum.

The “Verfassungsschutzbericht 2005” submitted by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on May 22, 2006 devoted about half a page to the magazine in the section “Traditional Anarchists”. The reason given there: “Classical anarchist concepts are mainly represented in Germany by groups of the 'grassroots movement' and the anarcho-syndicalist Free Workers' Union (FAU) as the German section of the 'International Workers Association' (IAA). "The report estimated the strength of the" grassroots movement "at" around 200 supporters united in action groups, training collectives and other groups ". Their forms of action include “the concept of civil disobedience with deliberate rule violations”, and “non-violent resistance”, which includes damage to property but not assaults on people, they consider legitimate. ”Earlier reports contain largely identical mentions and assessments. While the editors commented ironically on the mention in the reports on the protection of the constitution, the design of the title of one of the VS reports caused considerable displeasure, as the magazine's emblem was to be seen alongside symbols of neo-Nazi groups, in which an inadmissible equation of violence and dictatorship was in favor Right-wing radicalism and nonviolent anarchist left was seen.

In August 2007, GWR editor Drücke said in an interview in the magazine Jungle World about the renewed mention of the GWR in the constitution protection report: “Even the Stasi described us as petty-bourgeois and pseudo-revolutionary. (...) One can understand that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution does not find it good that we want to fight the state with non-violent means. But it's annoying. Just by mentioning it in the report for the protection of the constitution, professional careers are destroyed. (...) Just working in an anarchist newspaper is reason enough for the state to become suspicious. "

reception

The social scientist Ralf Vandamme characterizes the grassroots revolution in his dissertation Basic Democracy as Civil Intervention as "the main organ of grassroots actors". Horst Stowasser writes: “The group that has most consistently driven the development of a root system and at the same time comes closest to anarchist ethics is 'nonviolent action'. It is no coincidence that their widespread newspaper is called 'Grassroots Revolution'. "

literature

  • Nonviolent anarchism. Challenges and perspectives at the turn of the century . Grassroots Revolution (ed.). Verlag Graswurzelrevolution, Heidelberg 1999, ISBN 3-9806353-1-7
  • Johann Bauer: A global departure! Conversation about the nonviolent anarchism of the 1970s. With basic texts and a. on the criticism of the RAF and the Göttingen "Mescalero" affair . Verlag Graswurzelrevolution, Nettersheim 2008, ISBN 978-3-939045-12-0
  • Bernd Drücke : Between a desk and a street battle? Anarchism and Libertarian Press in East and West Germany . Verlag Klemm & Oelschläger, Ulm 1998, ISBN 3-932577-05-1 (For the history of the grassroots revolution, see in particular pp. 165–181)
  • Bernd Drücke (Ed.): Yes! Anarchism. Lived utopia in the 21st century . Interviews and discussions. Karin Kramer Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-87956-307-1 (For the history of the grassroots revolution, see Chapter 3: Nonviolent anarchism and the grassroots revolution, pp. 114–201)
  • Bernd Drücke: Anarchist and Libertarian Media, 1945–2010 . (Federal Germany). In: John DH Downing (Editor): Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media . SAGE, Los Angeles / London / New Delhi / Singapore / Washington DC, 2011, ISBN 978-0-7619-2688-7
  • Bernd Hüttner (Hrsg.): Directory of the alternative media . AG Spak, Neu-Ulm 2006, ISBN 3-930830-77-9 (Interview on the history of the grassroots revolution, p. 121 ff.)
  • Holger Jenrich: Anarchist Press in Germany 1945–1985 . Nevertheless publisher, Grafenau 1988, ISBN 3-922209-75-0
  • Günter Saathoff: Grassroots Revolution. Practice, theory and organization of nonviolent anarchism in the Federal Republic, 1972–1980 . Diploma thesis , University of Marburg 1980

Web links

Commons : Grassroots Revolution  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography Wolfgang Hertle, Dr. phil. In: Former employees. Hamburg Institute for Social Research , archived from the original on October 14, 2016 ; accessed on August 1, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Between your desk and street battle? P. 165 ff.
  3. ↑ cf. Between a desk and a street fight? , ibid.
  4. ↑ Wolfram Beyer: Pacifism and Antimilitarism. An introduction to the history of ideas. (Series theorie.org) Schmetterling Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, p. 104f.
  5. ↑ “Please get in touch!” GWR 273 November 2002
  6. ↑ "We are war profiteers" . In: Jungle World , No. 35/2007, August 30, 2007; Interview by Doris Akrap .
  7. ^ Opladen, 2000
  8. ↑ in: Anarchy! Idea - history - perspectives . Edition Nautilus, Hamburg 2007, p. 460.